Separation of components within an initial mixture is a common task performed in a number of industries. Filtration is one method that can be used to perform such separations. Filtration systems have been employed in which an inlet stream containing a mixture of two or more components is transported over a filtration medium to produce a first stream transported through the filter (generally referred to as a permeate stream, which is enriched in the component that is more readily transported through the filtration medium) and a second stream that is not transported through the filter (generally referred to as a retentate stream, which is enriched in the component that is less readily transported through the filtration medium).
It can be challenging, in some instances, to achieve effective separation of components within an initial mixture using filtration systems. For example, one challenge faced in the beer industry is effectively using filtration-based systems to concentrate beer, as ethanol is generally less effectively filtered from water than dissolved salts. In addition, current commercial processes for concentrating such mixtures are generally inefficient from both an energy and capital cost standpoint.
Improved systems and methods for performing filtration are therefore desirable.